I Need Proof
by SilverSnowflake9798
Summary: Kougyoku is tired of trying so hard to make things work with Judal when it seems like he really doesn't care about her. She demands that he proves it, and he asks her to meet him by the cherry blossom tree.


I need proof

**Hi people! This is a story I was asked to write a while ago, but kept on forgetting. Sorry! It's a bit of a spin off from nicknames, but you don't have to read it to understand what is going on in this one. I don't own magi or any of these characters. **

"Hakuei-saan…why are guys such jerks?" she sniffled as she spoke to her older sister though 'the eye of the rukh,' A contraption Yamuriha created. She gave one to Kou so that Hakuei could speak to her siblings from Sindria. With her wedding to Sinbad coming up soon, she didn't have the chance to come and visit them often.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that question." Kougyoku sniffed more and grabbed another tissue. Wiping her eyes she pulled her legs up on the couch and rested her head on her knees. "Is it Judal again?"

"Yes!" Kougyoku yelled, hurting Hakuei's ears. "He's being such a jerk! We've been secretly together for a while now, but sometimes it's like he doesn't care about me! All he does is tease me and make fun of me a lot!"

Hakuei was good when it came to helping Kougyoku through these things. "Judal has always been doing that. Yet you still fell for him didn't you?" Kougyoku blushed and nodded. "You shouldn't have expected any different. He's not going to change who he is you know."

"I know!" Kougyoku defended. "But I still thought it would be a little different. And lately it's starting to feel like…like he really doesn't care!"

"Come again?"

"I mean, yes, we've been hiding it from my brothers because we aren't supposed to be together, but he acts like he never wants them to know! As if he and I are just temporary! That I'm something that he can play around with until he gets bored of me again." Her heart froze at the thought. She hoped it wasn't true. If it was, that meant that he wasn't going to be forever. She would go on loving him, and he wouldn't care. It was like him. When he got bored, he just left. He'd done it to countries, dungeon capturers, why couldn't he do that to her?

Quickly Hakuei tried to reassure her. "Don't think like that Kougyoku! I'm sure Judal likes you, and he wouldn't do that! I mean, if he did all of our brothers would be after him." true. Even Judal wasn't stupid enough to do that.

"B-but he acts like it! What am I supposed to do?" Hakuei thought about it, trying to find a moment in her life she could relate to her sisters.

"Well, once when Sinbad was flirting with some girls it bugged me some. At first I was simply going to confront him about it but…"

Interested, Kougyoku leaned in closer to the sphere. "But?" through the orb Kougyoku could see her sister blush.

"Er…Yamuriha and Jafar 'suggested' I give him a taste of his own medicine. They persuaded (Bribed) me to flirt with other's when we went to dinner one day…it didn't go to well." Kougyoku had stopped sniffling by now. Her curiosity momentarily masked her fear.

Her sister blushed all the more. "At first he looked like he was going to try and kill the men. But as you know, I really can't flirt, so he saw through it quickly. In the end he got revenge on me, Yamuriha, and Jafar." Hakuei could still remember what he did to Jafar. All the files that he had to do had been piled up on his desk, and as soon as Jafar had walked in he pushed them all on top of him. She thought he was going to drown. In paperwork! LITERALLY!

Kougyoku on the other hand wasn't amused. "How is that supposed to help me?"

"Oh, right. Well, in the end we did talk about it and it all worked out….did that help?" Kougyoku shook her head and Hakuei sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, confront him about it. Don't just leave it in the air. If you have a problem with how he's acting, than tell him."

It sounded like sound advice but Kougyoku wasn't sure. "But what if he says he doesn't care?" She didn't think her heart could take that. Hakuei wanted to tell her it would be okay, but wasn't sure she could.

"Than well…at least you won't be left wondering." Her words didn't' reassure her. But Kougyoku didn't know what else to do.

"Alright Hakuei-chan. i…I guess I'll talk to him."

"Good luck. Oh, and don't do what I did! If Judal was there, he would probably just kill them! Don't let anyone die for this!" maybe not physically. But Kougyoku knew her heart would die when she asked him.

"Judal, can we….what are you doing?" Judal looked over the edge of the roof at Kougyoku who started up at him with an open mouth.

"…nothing…" he turned back and threw another water ball at the crowd of soldiers training. He laughed when it hit one in the face, making him look around in confusion when he couldn't find who had done it. "Oh man, I should throw acid at them! Anyway, what did you want?" Kougyoku stared at him for a bit, than just shook her head in defeat.

"I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Oo, wait, it's that old time general. I'm going to hit him straight in the face."

"Judal-kun, this is important,"

"Or maybe I should hit him in the back of the head."

"Judal,"

"That way it would go down his back,"

"JUDAL, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT US!" Kougyoku yelled so loudly that the soldiers far away vaguely heard the scream. Luckily for her, they couldn't tell what she had said though. Or else they really would be in trouble.

After getting over the shock of her scream he leaned over the edge again. "'Bout us? What do you wanna talk about?" Kougyoku huffed, her anger steaming within her. How dare he look so innocent when she was so mad at him!

"Judal, I'm done with this!"

He just blinked. "Done with what?"

"With you! No, not you, but how you act! It's as if you don't care a thing about me, that you and I are just some joke to you! Well, it's not to me, and I'm tired of putting so much effort into the two of us if it's not going to last!"

"Wha-" Judal stepped back, flabbergasted. "Where did this come?"

"It's been bugging me for a long time." At that he jumped down from the ledge and headed over to her.

"Then why didn't you say anything," he reached for her hand but she pushed it away.

"I'm saying something right now!" she yelled at him. "I'm so mad at you! You don't want my brothers to ever find out about us, you don't want to talk about us, you don't seem to care about US at all! Well, I'm sick of it!"

"Yo, old hag, what do you expect me to do? You know that I care about you! What else can I do?" Kougoyku's anger was bubbling, mixed with fear and desperation. She wanted something. She didn't want him to just say it, she needed something! Something tangible, some experience that she could look back on if she-

"Then give me proof." Judal blinked.

"What?"

"If you really care about me, prove it! Don't just say it, do something so that I can believe it! Actions speak louder than words you know!" with a huff she crossed her arms, while Judal stood there absolutely stunned. "Well? I'm waiting?"

"Wait, what? What do you expect me to do?"

"I don't know, you're the one who has to do it!"

"How do you expect me to come up with something right now?" racking his brain he tried to think of something. Anything, and it had to be quick or else she would walk away. He remembered that stupid king had given Hakuei a nickname, but Judal wanted to stick with old hag. That swords-loving guy had given that magician girl some kind of flower, but Judal hated flowers. Alibaba had brought…who…that finalist girl to a dinner place one time was. But he wasn't hungry. What the heck was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to think of something that would prove that he wanted them to last…?

"That's what I thought." Kougyoku felt her heart break when Judal didn't come up with a response. Unable to stomach it, she turned to walk away.

"Wait!" he grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stay put. "M-meet me at the cherry tree!" With a frown Kougyoku turned back to him.

"What?"

"Tonight, sometime after dinner okay? Just come to the cherry tree, and I'll prove it to you then, I promise!" she narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't sure if she should trust him. Maybe he was just going to pull another prank on her. Like he always did. she couldn't deny she loved him, but she didn't know if she trusted him.

"Why should I trust you?"

"…Cause you have this far."

Kougyoku tapped her foot impatiently by the tree. The sun was already down. It had been hours after dinner, almost midnight. She had tried to stay calm the whole day, not telling her brothers what was wrong with her. They had asked a lot after they got a call from Sindria. Not from Hakuei, she always kept her promises. But apparently Sinbad had caught on that something was wrong with Kougyoku and he told her brothers. Luckily they hadn't figured it out, but they were still wondering. But she had kept her mouth shut, just like she always did. Even though she was starting to doubt why she did.

Why was she waiting for him? No, she knew the answer to that. Because she loved him. Maybe she was a fool for it. He was the first dark magi. He had probably killed more people than she could count. And yet she still followed him. The first boy to ever say hi to her in the palace. The one who brought her to her first dungeon. The boy who gave her her first nickname, old hag. Why did she follow him? Why did she let him play with her like that? He teased her, pranked her, made fun of her, and yet she loved him for it. Curse her heart! Why him?

_I'm being stupid, _she thought to herself. _He's not coming. _Just thinking that broke her heart. Hesitantly, she turned to the tree, wondering if she should stay.

Just as she did, Judal popped out of nowhere. "Boo!"

"AH!" she fell back on the grass, Judal laughing over her. "Judal, you big bully! Don't scare me like that!"

"It's your own fault. You were going to leave!" still laughing a bit, he pulled her up to her feet. "And you promised you would wait. Tsk tsk, and I thought you were a good person. For shame Kougyoku, for shame." Kougyoku pouted, her cheeks getting red. Though she didn't want to admit she was happy. He had come. Maybe it was just to make fun of her…but it was better than nothing.

"Why are you so late? Do you have any idea how long I was waiting here?" Judal just smiled. He looked so happy. What did he have to be happy about?

"yeah, I know. Your head looks like a pink pumpkin from up above." She gasped and covered her head in shock.

"You-were you spying on me?"

Innocently, he continued smiling. "Well…I wouldn't call it spying…I was up there anyway, you just didn't look!" that was true. Why hadn't she thought of looking in the tree?

"What were you doing up there Judal-kun?"

"I was putting magic on it!" she frowned, scrunching her nose in the process. She looked like a rabbit. "Oh don't be mad at me. I just finished putting the magic on, and it took me a long time! Besides, it's almost midnight. You can't leave now or you'll miss the show."

"What show?"

"Here, look." Putting his arm around her shoulder he spun her around so she was facing the flowers on the tree. "See how none of them are opened?" she nodded. "Well at midnight something really awesome is gonna happen." His version of awesome had once been pushing her into the lake.

As she looked at the trees, she noticed something was different. The branches weren't normal. Looking closely they looked…shiny? No, there was something coating them. Was that ice? Had Judal covered the branches in ice? "Judal-kun, what,"

"BOOM!" and it was midnight.

It all happened at once. All of the flowers began to bloom, bigger and brighter than they ever had. Much brighter. In fact, they were glowing. The pink glow shone everywhere, reflecting off of the water in the lake and the ice on the branches. Petals began to fall off and fly around them, each soft and delicate in their own special way. Above them the moon shone down, adding a white glow to the entire area. Kougyoku stared at the scene in awe, unable to control the smile that had appeared on her face. It was all…so wonderful! It was absolutely magical! Judal turned to her and smiled when he saw her grin. "You like it?"

"Y-yes! I love it, it's wonderful!" He snickered, trying to act cool while being as happy with his work as she was.

"Well, this doesn't really prove anything other than me being awesome. So look at that flower." She turned to see the one flower that hadn't bloomed. It was the biggest flower on the whole tree, already glowing even when it hadn't been opened. "Mm, one sec." he walked over to it and tapped it with his wand. At his command the flower bloomed open, more beautiful and more majestic than any she had ever seen. But that wasn't what Judal was getting at.

As it opened, something small fell out.

"W-what is it?" Judal bent down and picked up the shiny object. She reached for it, but he jumped in the air, hanging up-si-down in front of her. "Hey!"

"Nu-uh! You close your eyes first and then I'll show it to you!" Kougyoku puffed and crossed her arms.

"I'm not going to fall for that again!" the last time he had asked her to do that she had ended up drenched in purple paint. It didn't come out for an entire week! Even big brother En had a hard time not laughing. Judal shook his head, his braid falling to the ground above his head.

"Will you relax? Just hold out your hand and close your eyes okay?" Doubtfully, she shut her eyes tight and held out her left hand. For a moment nothing. Then she felt him slip something cold onto her left hand.

On her ring finger. "Okay, open your eyes." She did, and stared down at the piece on her finger. It was a large pink rock, fitted on silver that fit perfectly and comfortably around her finger. She stared at the thing shocked and looked up at a grinning Judal. Than back to the ring. Than Judal. Than the ring again. "Well if you keep doing that, your head's going to fall off."

"Did…did you just…"

"Propose? Yeah, guess I did." than he thought about it. "Well, no, not yet, wait." _Oh my gosh,_ Kougyoku squealed in her head. _What is he doing? _Reaching down he grabbed her hands, his red eyes focused on hers. He was still flying upsidown, so it was a little disorienting for her. "I um…I didn't prepare a speech or anything," he began, fumbling with his words for a bit. "But I guess, if I had to say something than…I love you old hag. And I really do want you to stick around. You're the first thing I'd ever want to be a permanent thing for me. Probably the only good thing I've ever really had. What kind of idiot would want to lose that? Sorry for not being some super charming or sweet guy like you always wanted," _Did Judal just APOLOGIZE? _"But I ain't givin' up on us so… please don't give up on me either." Nervously, he gestured towards the ring on her hand.

"So, what do you say?"

What did she say?

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE SAID?!

"Yes!" she laughed happily, grabbing his hands and squeezing them tight. "Yes, of course! I'd love to marry you, I love you!" Judal brightened, for the first time looking as happy as a golden sun. But instead of telling her that, he decided to get a bit of revenge.

"Oh yeah? Well prove it." she blinked at him.

"Pardon?"

"You said you love me. So prove it." Kougyoku didn't understand what he meant. She had said yes didn't she? Judal rolled his eyes and grabbed one arm and put his other hand behind her neck. "Here, I'll show you how it's done." And he pulled her into him.

It was the first upsidown kiss Kougyoku had ever had. But it was still the best.

After a while, Judal asked Kougyoku a favour. "Hey, do you mind not telling your brothers right away? Hakuei or Hakuryuu is fine, but not your brothers."

"Um…sure, why?"

"I want to tell them."

"Yo, Emporer Kouen, Koumei, and Kouha I need to talk to you. You guys busy?"

"Yes we are. Can you make it quick?"

"Oh sure. Just wanted to let you know I'm marrying your sister Kougyoku."

"Wh….wha….how…"

"Can't wait to have you guys as in-laws! See you later!"

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?"

**Wow, after reading this over I think it's really cheesy. I kind of rushed writing this, so I'm not super happy with how it turned out. Oh well, hope you like it!**


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